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2015 was a year of success for our team for sure! As a meritocratic business, positions of seniority within the company are only allocated to those who have worked their way up from the very bottom, proving that they know our business models and campaigns inside and out. In the last week before Christmas, we were thrilled to announce that Conrad Swift – from our Manchester branch – was to be promoted to the position of Campaign Manager.

We couldn’t be prouder of everything Conrad has achieved – both personally and professionally – in such a short space of time, and we decided to catch up with him to get down to the nitty-gritty of his journey to Campaign Management. Here’s what he had to say…

So, Conrad, how does it feel to be a Campaign Manager?

Getting promoted is pretty indescribable. There’s many words I can think of such as; amazing, incredible, awesome. But the truth is, putting it into words wouldn’t do the feeling any justice. You imagine it happening, but nothing comes close to the great sense of pride and achievement you actually feel for, not only yourself, but your teammates as well.

What did you feel your biggest challenge was working your way up the career ladder?

My biggest challenge coming through the field was keeping things simple. I very often overthought everything. I used to think that it couldn’t be as easy as following a couple of simple systems and working hard. Once I started simplifying things and working the systems, that’s when I really began to progress.

Do you have any advice for those starting out with The Interactive Team this year?

Best advice for someone new… Listen, learn and most importantly, APPLY! I was guilty of often thinking that if I listened to advice and wrote it down, I would naturally just start doing it. You have to make a conscious effort to put what you learn into practice. Learn from the best and apply it with a stronger work ethic and more positive attitude and you’ll soon see the results

So what was it that actually initially attracted you to the role here with The Interactive Team?

I’ve done a few things since leaving school so I understand that in any business, you have to work hard, regardless of the industry. What attracted me to my role at the interactive team was that I can progress based on merit. So the harder I worked the faster I could progress

What was it you were doing before you joined the business?

Before I started at Manchester active, I was a diagnostic technician for BMW. I did an apprenticeship which was great as I was learning a lot. Once I had completed my apprenticeship, I continued working hard but hit a glass ceiling and couldn’t continue progressing. I’m too ambitious to waste time allowing someone else dictate my progress.

Now what are your next set of goals?

My goals moving forward… Directorship is my next goal. I’m not slowing down. Mid-term goal is to open up my own office by the summer. Long-term goal is to have my organisation global and travel around to my offices and consulting as a Vice President.

Any thoughts on the future for The Interactive Team as a whole?

The future of the interactive team is very bright! We are only currently at 3% of where we need to be at the moment. I visualise the organisation working in every different sector and operating all over the world! The potential of what we can achieve is limitless. It’s beyond exciting!!

Congratulations Conrad – hard work pays off!

Before we even think about business, The Interactive Team is – in fact – a team. A team made up of hard-working, ambitious, motivated, enthusiastic individuals, but the people that make up our brilliant bunch certainly didn’t just pop up out of the ground like daisies. No, our team had to be grown and developed by our in-house recruitment team and boy, what a great job they are doing!

Obviously recognition – and recruitment – are a massive part of what makes our company what it is today, so with this in mind, The Interactive Team has introduced a “Recruiter of the Month” award to recognise the efforts of our talented recruiters who work hard and smart to find the best people to join our business. We are now delighted to announce that the first winner of this is Dundee’s Recruitment Manager – Toni Benjamin – and we decided to catch up with Toni to get her thoughts on recruitment and indeed the month gone by…

So Toni, congratulations on winning our very first “Recruiter of the Month” award! How does it feel?

It feels amazing. I love my job because I’m always finding new talent to join the business and I get such a buzz from giving people opportunities to build careers with us.

How long have you been working in our Recruitment team now?

I started in the sales department in January working in the Dundee branch, and when the opportunity came about to join the recruitment team, I jumped at it. I’ve been working in recruitment since June now, time’s absolutely flying by but I’m loving it.

What’s been the most challenging aspect of the role so far?

I think the most challenging aspect is probably finding the right candidates for the roles. Obviously, each opportunity isn’t for everyone so I want to make sure that the candidates coming in have the right determination to be successful for both the business and themselves. I want everyone coming into the business to realise that there’s a genuine career path here for them, just like I did.

So what’s the most enjoyable thing about working in recruitment?

I just love being able to offer life changing opportunities to people. It’s a great feeling to see our guys thrive within the role and knowing you played a helping hand in getting them there. It’s incredible seeing people who came into their roles quite timid, then all of a sudden you see them flourish and become great leaders. I suppose you get the chance to see the professional and personal development first-hand and that’s a really positive thing to be a part of.

You won the “Recruiter of the Month” award for October. What’s went so well last month?

There’s an incredible atmosphere within the office at the moment, which has been created by an amazing bunch of ambitious individuals, so seeing just how motivated they are really motivates me to help others enjoy the same success!

Congratulations Toni – your efforts to find the perfect candidates to join our business certainly haven’t gone unnoticed, and your enthusiasm and endeavour continue to prove that you’re an asset to our company and a credit to yourself! Well done!